Signaling system



Dec. 17, 1929. w. P. FowLER SIGNALING SYSTEM Filed 001,. 13. 1927 2Sheets-Sheet `l INVENTOR, 'W/e.'

' I, l. l ATTORNEY.

Dec. 17', 1.929. W, P, FOWL'ER 1,739,833 4SIGNALING SYSTEM Filed Oct.13, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 y N' o'- *n'f aww/14m,

Patented Dec. i7, 1929v i Y f j i' vwnnaitn r. FOWLER, or `Mn'rnoronrs,ririnriiorsfv sienrntriaefv SYSTEM `applic'ationled Octoberml, 192'?.VlEaerial'No. 225,918.

` This invention relates to signaling syse Another object is togreatly'simplify and tems, and especially to an 'improved auto=minimizethe costf'of constructing, installingA matic railway crossingsignal, and is an imvand maintaining ya signaling `device' of this lprovement on the device covered by my Pat character, ,atu the sametimeproviding vfor 5 ent Number 1,595,460. i l .Y electrically connectingany desiredv number 55 One object of this invention is to provide a ofthe signal-operating mechanisms to a sinf` i railway crossing signalwhich automatically gle dynamo which is preferably located adjaoperatesto announce the approach ota car or cent to the railway track, so anattendant may train on a railway track,` to retain one or more manage.the operation-ot such dynamo while signaling elements in the signalingposition being convenient to the railway for traveling. l30

until the car or train has'cntirely passed'the thereon (on al hand-caror otherappropriate crossing and the signaling element, then automeans)`vfrom -one `to another of said signalmatically moveJ the signalingelement 'into a controlling devices. K il l f l' position for indicatingthe fact that the train i Other objects and important-featuresare haspassed, or out of the above mentioned pointed out or'implied inthefollowing de- 65 i i Y signaling position. tails of description, inconnection with the A further object of this invention is toproaccompanying drawings in which vide an improved. mechanicallyoperated and Fig.' 1 is a view mainly inside elevation, but

electrically controlled device for operating a partly. -inverticalgsection, and -partly dia- 2c, railway' gate yor other signalingelementsoas grammatic,fcertainpartsbeing-broken ,away 70,

to move such signaling element ironia ver onshowing otherparta-and'forlackvof suf? ticalV position to a horizontal positio'm; andiicient space to show some ofthe parts in their 'v vice versa, suchelectro-mechanical device be# entirety. p l v Y i ing entirelyautomatic; that is', entirely de- Y Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic v i'eW ofthe ele'cpendent upon the approach and departure of tricallsystemwhichoperates and controls fthe f7 5u Y vide an improved deviceof. this character dle orpoleavhichis extended acrossa wagons()locomotive, car or train, for. startingiand 'mechanism forraisingandlowering thepole, stopping andv reversing the mechanical elepaddleorgate-whichconstitutes the signaling ments which operate the signalingelement. elementabovereferredto.v y

Another object of the invention is Vto pro- Itis generally andwell knownthatja padhaving all its lparts united,veXcept the railway road `(thisterm to distinguishv froma rail-f and its electrical connections, orconsistingot roadlis intended more particularlyt'o warn a. unitarycombination which is capable of the-driver'sgoffwagons andother'vehicles, as. being carried bodily, thereby avoiding .the well aspedestrians andzequestrians, instead*-v necessity of building the deviceatfthe place of actually'm'aking it impossible forthein'to 35 I it is tobe installed at ar railway crossingf cross the, railroad,Bedestriansoften Icross",V

- `Another,object is to provide an .improved in spite eta Jwarning giventhe 'signal. device of this character which consists of comey Therefore,the-bar or paclclle=-here operated paratively few and -veryf strong `anddurable as a Vgate is, in its broadestsense,- a signaling Y4Q parts,thus providing the maximum service element, and .willhereafterfbereferred to 90` '5G mentsr and circumstances.

and eciencyat comparatively low cost of as such.` This gateY'orsignaling element is Y installing and maintaining the device;-y yhere referred to or designated by the numeral Another object is toprovide a'dcvi'ce oi' this andra sufficient portion of it is here showncharacter with abattery and a step-down to mal're'clearits operation. Itis shown in transformer or reducer, and provide these full lines in its'horizontal position, and l,9,5 with a switch whereby-either may-be usedto broken linesin its vertical position. l It v1s connect thecontrolling relay with the insu# clamped-:or otherwise ysecured on astud or g lated ysection of railway track, -therebysuitf stubshaft 6which is journaled in an upright Y, v ing the device to variousconditions, environtrame element v7, thev latter beingsecured on a base8,V which latter also supports other up-QlOO; y

2j .KM l v v 1,739,833

kright frame elements which will presently K Vbe described. A shaft 9 isalso journaled in the upright frame element 7, and this shaft'.v

carries a gear Wheel 10 which. meshes with a gearwheel 11 on thestub-shaft 6. The shaft 9 also carries Y asegmental gear 12 which -Vmeshes lwith a kworin 13. `This worm is seis rotatable with itscontiguous clutchfelement around the shaft 14, being journaled on thelatter. A pair' of clutch levers 17v is Y provided for each of theclutch elements 155l on theshaft 14., and has inclined ends on and 16,each of these clutch levers717 being provided ywith a friction-ele1nent18 and with an adjusting screw 19. A sleeve 20 is featherkeyed orotherwise securedA aga-inst rotation which the Vadjusting screws 19slide for swinging the vlever 17 of each pair so as to bring thefriction-elements 18 into frictional engagement with the clutch elements.15nl and 16a. The middle part of the member 2O is l provided with anannular groove 21 inwhich a stud l22 extends from a lever 23 whichispivoted on an upright 24 and hasY a slot 23 in its upper end.'-I

.A beveled gear Wheel 25 is mounted onva shaft'26 and is continuallyin'mesh with the Y beveled gear wheels 15 and 16. [A worm gear wheel 27is 'also securedon thev shaft 26 and serves as a driving wheel forf thegearwheel 25. This wheel 27 is drven'by a 4worm 28 which has its shaft29 journaled in Suitable bearings on the sb'asel. TheY shaft v29 isdriven by an electric vmotor 3() lWhich'may' belofV any appropriate kind'or type.

n' yA-main actuating` bar31 is provided witha slot 31a, and adouble-headedpin or bolt 32V extends through the slots 23a and 31a so asto` operatively connectthe lever. 23 with the bar 31yfor a purposerwhichwill hereafter be eX lained. VAflink 33 is pivotally connestey -to theVbar 31 and to a supporting ele- 'menty 7l whichis securedon the upright7a. A'link'34 isa-lso pivotally connected to the f bar'fr31, vpreferablybythe same pivot 31b which connects the link 23 to thebar 31. A

- ried its pivot 31"beyondv the plane which commento the fixedpivotofthelink 33 and'A contractile Vspring 35 has its upperv end secured to thelink 34, and has its lower end securedtoan element 36,1011 the base 8.This spring'holds the bar 311 alternately in the broken line positions31A and 31B, and also forces this vbar to eitherof said broken line Ypositions when it has passed slightly beyond its neutral' position whichis shown in full lines; that is,"when the'link 33 has Vpassed slightlybeyond its vertical position, or carthe Afined connection of the yspring35, The

bar 31 rests upon the upper end 7? of the upright 7, when said bar is ineither of its positions 31A and 31B. vIt will be seen that when the bar31 moves rightward to the p0- sition 31A, it swings the lever 23 forrendering the clutch levers 17 effective forsecuring the gear wheel 16against rotation on the shaft 26 ,thaty is, it locks Vthe gear wheel 16to the shaft 14 so that when Vthe gear 16 turns, it turns the shaft 14and thereby turns the worm 13 in the direction forturning the segmental`gear 12 in the direction of its arrow. An arm 37 is'either clamped on a'hub of the gear segment 12, or secured to the shaft 9 by any appropriatemeans, and this arm is connected by a link 38 to a lever 39 which ispivoted at 40 to a bearing secured on an insulated platform 41, thelatter heilig supported by the upright frame element 7.

The lower end of the lever 39 is pivotally con'-v the'letter A indicatesthe plane of'such pivots near the eXtreme rightward position vof the:V

lever 43. Similarly the broken :line at in-` dicates the planecoinciding with the center of the spring 35 and link 34 when they arenear their leftward position, and the broken line B indicates v,theplane. coinciding with the centers of the velements 34 and 35 when neartheir extreme rightward position. Y

A single pole double throw switch 45 is pivotally mounted at 46 on theinsulated plat-k form 41, and this-switch includes two contacts V47 and48. This switch will hereinafter be referred to as Athe S. P. D. T.switch.y Its upper end is provided with a slot 45a through which a 'stud49 extends from an arm 50 which is pivotally connected at 51 onV the bar31. `The upper end of the'lever 43 is .in the path oftwo spacedabutments52 and 53 of the bar 31, so that-such abutments are en# gaged by thelever 43 for moving the bar 31 Y vvfromthe positions 31A and 31B to ythefull/ line position or slightly past the full line position shown inFigure 1; and when the bar 31l has moved slightly past its full line'po? arms, links and levers-37 to 42 inclusive, 'and that the spacebetween .the abutments 52l and 53 permits the bar l31 `to complete itsmove,`

ment'to the 31E-position, for instance, while the lever 43 remains nearvits'a-position.

nsV

It willbezunderstood, fromthe foregoing,

thatv the $.13. D. T. switch is also operated by the bar 31, this beinglaccomplished through the medium of the arm or link 50 andits studj49;and now, it may be well toreview the structure thus far described `andto explaina cycle otits operation as fol'- lows: Assuming that thesignaling element has been moved from itsupright orbroken line positionto its horizontal ori'ull line po? sition, by the gearing mechanismpreviously described, the clutch levers 17 (at the' right) being in theeective position shown, so that all parts having arrows thereon aremov.- ing in the direction indicated by said arrows,

i i and have so moved until the link 33 has its A(il) pivot in the sameplane with the spring 35,v the connecting stud 32 having justengagedwith the right-hand end of the slot 31a, and .the stud 49 having justengaged with the shift the bar 31 to the position 31B, andfin i doingthis, the S. P. D'. T. switch is opened at 48 and closed at 47. In theoperation of thus shifting the S. l). D. T. switch, it is'moinentarilyopen at' both 47 and 48, .which breaks the circuit for apurpose whichwill v presently be explained. Anothertunction of.

the bar 31, during its quick change from the full-line position 31B, isto shift the lever 23 leftward sufficiently tarato move the clutchsleeve 20out ofengageinent withv the screws 19 of the clutchgleverswhich co-act with the clutch element 16a, and into engagement with suchscrews ot the `clutch levers which cooperate with tlie clutch element15a, thus leav ing the bevelgear wheel Y16 free to turn on vthe shaft14, at the saine time locking the` bevel gear 15 on the shaft 14, sothat when the gear wheel 25 resumes its movement in tlie diiection ot4its arrow, the shaft 14 will Vbe turned inthe direction opposite tothat which Aisindicated byits arrow, and accordingly,the parts 37 and42, inclusive, swing 'the lever 43 rightward, Vand the saine, now. beingagainst the abutment 53 (clearly` shown in my Patent Number 1,595,460),moves the bar 31 right-ward until itreaches the full line position' hereshown. remembered that the S. P. D. T. switch is now in its broken lineposition', and thevle'ver 23 is in its leftward position, its stud `3 2being in the left end of'tlie'slot 3D1 and now, when the Vbar 31 hasbiought itsstud oi'rpivot 31b slightly to the right'otthev po! sitionhere shown, the spring '35 and its link y now bringthe stud 31h into theplane indicated by the broken line B. During this reverse movement ofthe gearing and combi'- Howevei, it is tobef nation of links, levers,etc., the paddle orsignal'element5 has moved to and slightly. bef

yond `thebroken line position thereof..

- Now, reterringto Fig. 2,-inwhich the nio tor 3() and the S. P. D. T.switch t5-47448 inthe foregoing, l will-explain the electrical systemwhich controlstlieinotor 30 and lis 'controlled bythe P. D. .T switch,as followszy'. a

At 6() is indicated an electrical generator-,L

and it is understood that any form of genen'v ator may be employedincoiiiiection with the' power circuit indicated at 61. A section oirailroad. track is indicated at 62, insulated at 62a) from parts ofthe.track-railsr at a distance from the 'crossing at `whichv thissig-- iiialing device is installed,'that is, at a suliiycient distance topermit ,the arm' 5 to be lowered to the horizontal position inconsequence of the approach of a car, locomotive or train,

kbeitore the same arrives at the crossing..` ln v this connection, 'itshouldbe understood that a pair oi wlieelsand` an axle of a truck otsuch locomotive or car combine to constitute a cire.

cuit closer 101, between the rails of the track` section 62...Thesetrack-rails are connected with an electro-magnet throughthemedium of conducting wires 66, 67 and68, these latter.

being connected by a battery 69, or by a step- -down transformer .'l,and a switch S. The electro-magnet is -indicated at 7 0, and is se-Ycured-on a :trame or supporting member 71 which. may be formed entirelyoiivinsulating .naterial vor provided with insulating inem? bers 72, 73,Z'4and v" 5,.the purpose of suchy insulation being obvious topersons'whoare acquaintedfwith elect-ric conductors and insulator's.' lAnarinature-lever 76 is-api'-.iotedat A.

77, 'on a kpost 81whi'ch` is supportedfon .the member'7laiid insulatedtherefrom bythe member 72.. A spring 78 constantlytends .to

ioo

ypull the contact-endet ti'ermeniber76 against v i a'stationar f contact79 while the ina0iiet70'j tends to pull said contactendagainst a sta.tionarycontact 80 whenthe magnet-is energiZed.` rlie contacts 79, 80andpost/'8l are insulated romifithelbody by means .of the 'insulatingmember 72,;andthe insulatiijig meni'ber`73 insulates'the spring 7 8 fromrthe member 71. 'rlhecont-act 79. entends through ii5A y the ineinber7l' while being spaceu-tiiereiroin Y and connectswi'th a bindingpost79". A conducting'rwire 94 connects'the sw tch' contact 47 with thebinding post 79a. A conducting Iwirev95 connects enebrushor terinif nelot the generator 6.0 with a bindingpost 96:'whichis secured onaiidelectri'cally coii-y iiected to the movable contact orarniat ire76.

- The other terminali oi" the generator60- isfconfnected to after'minalof' theA motor 30 byfanV electric conduct-w97, while the `othertermina-lof' the motor 30 isconnected tothe pivot/46 of: the S. i?. D. T.' switchby means of afcoiil vductor 9 8. Ap The switch'contact 48 is connected"and adjuncts are thejonly elements described 70 to the-contact 80 bymeans of a conductor99.V

The'operation of the invention is as follows: 'Y

WVhen the motor is not energized or 11i operation and the arm orsignaling member f is up or in its noirsignalingposition, or `when sucharm 1s beginning to move downward to y the signaling position, the SP.D. T. switch'l is in closed position ,with respect tothe contact 48shown in Figure 2) g but when the member 5 has moved downwardsufficiently,

so the link 37 effects the movement of the link 33 slightly beyond itsvertical position, Athe spring 35 and link 34 cooperate with the-link 33for quickly shifting the latter leftward, in

y the direction of the arrow on the member 51,

Vthereby simultaneously shiftingthe clutchlever 23 and the S. P.D.T.switch 115, and the circuit between the S. P. D. T. switch and contact48, so the motor is stopped, and the signaling member 5 remains in thesignaling position until thecar, locomotive or trainy passes beyond thetrack-section 62. When the circuit closer 101' passes beyond theinsulated tracksection 62, thereby breaking the circuit r between theconductors GS and 67, the battery 69 or transformer-.T (which is incircuit) is .de-energized, the magnet 'TO thereby being de energized, sothe spring 78 closesA the circuit between the contact members 76 and 79, and this part of the circuit remains closed until the battery 69 ortransformer T is again ener- Y gized by a circuit closer 101 on Vthetrack section 62. At this point it will be recalled that the S. P. D. T.switch made Contact with the member 47 while the signaling element 5 wasbeing'lowered, but thecircuit was not then completeduntil the armature76 made contact with'the member' 7 9; and now, theV circuit beingcompleted, and the clutch member 2Q being shifted, so'the motor 30 isstarted and causes rotation of the worm 13 in theopposite ing the clutchand the S.P.'D.T.V switch to c their initial or normal positions, inreadiness for again lowering the signaling member 5 (in the mannerpreviously explained), when a circuitec-loser 101 again cooperates withthe insulated track section for energizing the battery 69 and magnet 70.Y

` It should be .understood that the primary lFrom the'fforegoing itwill'be seen that I'V coil with one of said track-rails. coil ofthetransformer T is in shunt or paralc x l lelwith the high tension motorcircuit, being,"y

that while I have shown the generator 60 as operatively4 connected withlonly one motor a and the means which control the same and are controlledthereby, any appropriate numfv ber ofsuch devices or systems can beoperated from a single generator which may' be station'ed in convenientrelation with-all of the individual signaling systems, thecondiictorsindicated at 95a, 97, 95h, 97h, 95C, 97, d, and 97d. u c 'l What Iclaimv as my invention is:

1. In a railway signaling system, the combination of a signaling member;a reversible gearing operable to move the signaling'member to and fromits signaling position; a gearing mechanism to drive said reversiblegear-V ing; a high tension electric circuit including a motor fordriving said gearing mechanism,

fa double throw-switch -which includes two contacts and a movableelement, the latterbeing electrically connected to the motor andalternately connectibleV with said contacts, an electric conductorconnectedVV to the Vother terminal of. said motor, 4means'to s hift saidswitch for breaking with one of its contacts and closing with the otherone of its contacts, circuit-breaking means automatically operable tobreak the circuit tlii'oughfthe motor upon thus shifting said 'sw-itch;and an incomplete closing circuit of lowI tension including acircuit-closing`n1agnet,- two railway rails, a step-downtransformer,electric conductors connecting said transformer with said vmagnet andwith one ofsaid railway rails,

and an electric conductor connecting said magnet with the other one ofsaid railway. rails, this vincomplete closing circuit being adapted tobe completed by a conducting axle and wheels on said railway rails andthus made effective'for closing said normally open part of the said hightension circuit, the said transformer including a primary'coil inparallel with said high tension tcircuit.

' The structure deiinedby claiml, a bat- "12'0 Y tery' having oneterminal connectedlto one terminal ot the secondary coill of said step-Vdown transformer, and a 'switch operable to alternately connect vtheotherte'rminal of said switch or the other terminal'of said secondary Intestimony whereof'vai'x signature'.

VJILLARD FQVYLER.' y

